VIETNAM TODAY

Syrian security forces opened fire before dawn on hundreds of anti-government protesters staging a sit-in, shooting live ammunition and tear gas.

The European Union Delegation to Vietnam and the Sinh Vien newspaper will organise a short film competition on the impact of climate change in Vietnam.

One third of the street lights in the capital have been switched off after 11pm every night from April to at least June as part of a power-saving scheme.

Two tombs and a perfectly preserved well that are believed to date back between 4th and 6th century have just been dug up in Hanoi’s Ciputra residential area.

Fallout from Chernobyl remains a poorly-investigated hazard for the environment a quarter of a century after the disaster, say experts.

The State Bank of Vietnam has instructed commercial banks to submit plans by April 21 for holding credit growth this year at less than 20% .

Hoi An has become a major tourist destination for individual travelers and tour groups in the world since it was recognized as World Heritage.

Current investment models cause corruption and other problems due to investors’ excessive privilege, and should be replaced.

The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant has begun pumping highly radioactive water from one reactor's turbine building to a makeshift storage area.

The Vietnamese Government has been urged to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative that is believed to help curb mining pollution.

A ferry rescued almost 1,000 people from Misrata and Britain said it plans to pick up 5,000 more after Moamer Kadhafi's government guaranteed "safe passage".

Vietnamese wholesalers will have to import 1 million tonnes of petrol during a two-month suspension of Dung Quat Oil Refinery.

A ceremony to commemorate the soldiers and sailors of the Paracel Flotilla was held on April 18 on Ly Son island in the central province of Quang Ngai.

A number of measures for the building of a low-carbon society in Vietnam were introduced by the Japan National Research Institute of Environment at a seminar in Hanoi.

Vietnamese students nowadays do not think that libraries could be useful for them in learning.

President Barack Obama offered federal assistance on Monday to stricken southern US states after powerful tornadoes killed 44 people.

A delegation of all the 54 ethnic groups made a historic visit to Vietnam ’s frontline islands district of Truong Sa, leaving Ho Chi Minh City on April 18.  

Since the last few years, the number of tourists registering for tours had increased sharply but this year the numbers have dwindled, casting a gloomy shadow over the tourist industry. 

Toyota Motor on Monday resumed operations at all its domestic plants that had been halted since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.